Finally, after waiting so long, I've embarked on the grand adventure known as The Witcher 3. So far it runs like a dream and looks damn good in the process. The first thing I noticed once given control is how fluidly Geralt moves now. I don't think I've experienced smoother character movement using KB/Mouse. The fact it's an RPG makes it even more impressive. CDPR has made outstanding strides in this regard, and it's a wonder looking back on where they started to now.

I didn't get a chance to play much yet, but enough to do most basic things: conversations, combat, looting, horse riding. I like Roach's mechanics more than MGSV's horse from what I've played. Less janky and almost feels more analog, which is ironic seeing as how I've been playing MGSV on PS4. Anyways, I think this game will be my new mainstay, even though I'm still trying to finish up Bloodborne's trophies.

Other than that, I'm still dabbling in Wolfenstein: TNO yet when the urge for some FPS action arises. As excited as I am about Kingdom Come: Deliverance, I'd rather wait until finishing TW3 before biting into it too much. Maybe just a nibble for contrast.

Also Witcher-relevant, you can get both The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut and The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition on Steam now for a total of $4.48. Probably one of the best RPG deals in recent times in case anyone still hasn't played either one.

Would someone please explain to me why Wolfenstein 2 TNC was so favorably reviewed and stuff?

I mean, it looks nice. The story is alright I guess (Given that I didn't play the first game, I don't really feel attached to anyone), and I like the whole "you are seriously a broken man, BJ" thing it has going on (The wheelchair segment was freakin' brilliant)...

But the gameplay is seriously schizophrenic.

On one hand, it encourages stealth to kill commanders, but does pretty much nothing in the level design or anything to facilitate it. On the other hand, it wants me to run and gun, but BJ feels way to fragile to do that and the level design doesn't help matters either.

Like, DOOM was a good run and gun. You had mobility, and could easily run around and get angles on opponents, and survive huge onslaughts of damage via glory kills filling up your health.

But lacking such systems makes it really hard to do that. Combined with endless reinforcements if you don't track down and kill the commanders (who no longer get pointed out to you once you go hot)...Yeah, it doesn't feel so fun.

I'm at this point where I need to stall for time for some people to evacuate and I've died a dozen times because I start the segment at low health and there's not all that much lying around to pick up. I've already gone down one level of difficulty and I'm still not doing so well at this bit.

And I'm here just thinking "I think I'd rather be playing Warframe..."

hanselthecaretaker:Also Witcher-relevant, you can get both The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut and The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition on Steam now for a total of $4.48. Probably one of the best RPG deals in recent times in case anyone still hasn't played either one.

Second this. Grab if you're at all interested in this series and haven't played the other games yet.

Though if the first game ends up not grabbing you by the halfway point, feel free to skip to 2, because the first game does have serious flaws and the later games summerize all the plot points worth knowing.

hanselthecaretaker:Also Witcher-relevant, you can get both The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut and The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition on Steam now for a total of $4.48. Probably one of the best RPG deals in recent times in case anyone still hasn't played either one.

Second this. Grab if you're at all interested in this series and haven't played the other games yet.

Though if the first game ends up not grabbing you by the halfway point, feel free to skip to 2, because the first game does have serious flaws and the later games summerize all the plot points worth knowing.

Looks like the dirt cheap deal's over, but they're still pretty cheap. Speaking serious flaws, the Enhanced Edition is a necessity, and I think by now the standard way it's sold anyways. It still ran great for me though, and I only remember one rough spot in a bandit cave somewhere that was somewhat of a boss encounter. The game crashed a few times, but it was so long ago I don?t remember why or how I got it to stop.

I have fond memories of the original though. It felt like the better RPG to me as far as inventory, questing, locations, characters, etc. Imo the only things 2 did better were the combat system and having a better engine to run on. It felt like they were trying to add too much cinematic flair and scripted sequences to the gameplay. Overall it felt pretty linear and...small for an RPG. Then they padded it out with too much collecting x amount of y type quests to make it seem bigger than it really was.

I'm enjoying The Witcher 3 quite a bit more already, and I only just killed the griffin.

Went back to replay Final Fantasy XV with the DLCs and the new features added by the patches. Also, to see if I could get some plot holes filled, I watched the Kingsglaive 90 minutes long cutscene movie, the Brotherhood fan cartoon videos anime and the Prologue Parting Ways dialogue script web novel.

CaitSeith:Went back to replay Final Fantasy XV with the DLCs and the new features added by the patches. Also, to see if I could get some plot holes filled, I watched the Kingsglaive 90 minutes long cutscene movie, the Brotherhood fan cartoon videos anime and the Prologue Parting Ways dialogue script web novel.

I watched KingsGlaive but haven't played XV yet. If you played it without watching Kingsglaive, does it feel like a lot of the backstory is missing from the game?

I mean, it looks nice. The story is alright I guess (Given that I didn't play the first game, I don't really feel attached to anyone), and I like the whole "you are seriously a broken man, BJ" thing it has going on (The wheelchair segment was freakin' brilliant)...

But the gameplay is seriously schizophrenic.

On one hand, it encourages stealth to kill commanders, but does pretty much nothing in the level design or anything to facilitate it. On the other hand, it wants me to run and gun, but BJ feels way to fragile to do that and the level design doesn't help matters either.

Like, DOOM was a good run and gun. You had mobility, and could easily run around and get angles on opponents, and survive huge onslaughts of damage via glory kills filling up your health.

But lacking such systems makes it really hard to do that. Combined with endless reinforcements if you don't track down and kill the commanders (who no longer get pointed out to you once you go hot)...Yeah, it doesn't feel so fun.

I'm at this point where I need to stall for time for some people to evacuate and I've died a dozen times because I start the segment at low health and there's not all that much lying around to pick up. I've already gone down one level of difficulty and I'm still not doing so well at this bit.

And I'm here just thinking "I think I'd rather be playing Warframe..."

Professional reviewers suck, reviews are really nothing more than advertisements for games and have been that way for quite awhile now. I remember back when EGM was a magazine where each game got 3 reviews and you had more variance on not only score but also on opinion than you do from nearly 100 reviews on Metacritic now.

I found Wolf 2 to be a fun, pulpy ride but not much more than that. The game is schizophrenic in both gameplay and story. The important issues the game brings up felt very 50/50 on whether they hit or missed. The gameplay was a lot worse than TNO. You mentioned the commanders and the fact that they are almost always placed way at the end of levels turns the game into a pure stealth game or a full blown run and gun shooter. The problem is the game isn't very good at either of those extremes because the stealth is very frustrating and BJ is too fragile for the former. Whereas TNO had the commanders in the middle and easy to pick off without needing to be that stealthy, then you could get a bit of run and gun action in killing the rest without having waves of reinforcements. Errant Signal's review of Wolf 2 is really spot-on, much better than anything you'd from "professional" reviewers.

I enjoyed Prey quite a bit. I'll still remember that room where the scientist put a post-it on everything "not a mimic". Prey did drag-on much longer than it needed to or at least felt like that. You think you're on the homestretch and the game makes you do this, that, and another thing or two before actually ending. Errant Signal has a great Prey review as well.

I've recently taken a break from Cataclysm DDA and back to yet another Allied Grand Campaign in Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far now that I've managed to get it properly working on something beyond my stuident laptop ... prepping it for 5-6 weekends worth of nailbiting computer wargaming at its finest

The pinnacle of RTT goodness, simply put back when Microsoft Studios knew how to make a decent game. Back when games didn't handhold, with legacy style campaigns which weren't simply 'Did you win? Yes or No? Did you do this thing? Yes or No?"

Where persistent scarring can turn a bitterly contested series of buildings on a repeatedly fought over map into little more than vision obstructing debris from mortar hits, grenades, tank shells and rocket attacks.

Where soldiers can survive battle to battle with increasing and decreasing capabilities as they are injured, win battles, and directly participate in a protacted engagement that slowly boils down to attrition, and where there is persistent terrain scarring, and where total victory over a map becomes slowly inconceivable due to enemy reinforcements, dwindling requisition points, and simply holding what critical portions you have of it is the only recourse you have.

Where the game opens up with this ... and you instantly feel pumped.

... and no matter how unfair and cruel it is to have to fight and take Arnhem railbridge without being blown up on your very first battle or the British are paralyzed to do anything but take and hold Arnhem bridge proper for dear life and dwindling support as they face tanks later on... And if you fail to take that railbridge, the rest of the British campaign is but a slow march of inevitable suffering and crippling shortages ... yet you feel like fighting on and surviving. So even if it gets blown... it's almost exciting on its own. As that fundamentally shapes the rest of the game.

It tells you there is nothing left but to fight to survive. No more contingencies. And you feel it as you pour over the map knowing when and where you can take those longer truces, where and when to be more aggressive, when and where to simply accept what you can and can't defend on each map as your forces unravel into a bunch of half strength units and you're forced to take on the cheapest units possible to simply keep your troop numbers high enough to plug hypothetical gaps in the lines as German tanks make their inevitable arrival.

Everything means something beyond nebulous concepts of victory on a map. Where every man lost in battle is as if a death knell not only for that soldier, but to all others that know that you can never replace that experience, never fully recoup those losses, and it dawns on you that that little pair of soldiers meant more to you than you realized, how much you were relying on them ...

All while balancing that idea that missions aren't usually unwinable... just as supplies fall short, and XXX Corp is taking their sweet arse time to get to those British Airborne boys you can win impressive victories while bitterly outnumbered or outgunned. You can force that enemy truce short of retaking that bridge... and congratulations, soldier! Just 3-4 more similarly unfair battles to go!

That British PIAT teamleader that had, throughout the entire campaign, taken out two tanks and 1 gun, and successfully suppressed a MG42 team, over successive battles to simply hold onto that bridge finally bites the dust means something. And ultimately it will merely but 2 people in a whole list of soldiers you'll see join them in death.

And you remember their names. It sticks with you. As a noticeable name that you have learnt by growing familiarity suffer the weight of poor morale, suppression, injury, and desperation to survive as their unit is pounded by mortar and machine gun fire and you haven't an idea where you can wothdraw them to... or whether they would even survive the attempt.

For anyone that wants brutal RTT, brutal resource management systems, and legacy-style campaigns that might go on for 3-4 straight days of just videogaming ... Close Combat: ABTF (AKA CC2) is still the best in the series IMO.

It's a yearly tradition for me, given this was one of the most influential games of my young adulthood. It is just ... the best type of game ... it's not perfect, nothing that truly strives to provide such a magnificent and all-encompassing idea of tactical videogaming will be ... but it will leave an impression on anyone who plays it.

Plus it's the 20th anniversary of its release... so if you see it somewhere, give it a whirl.

Definitely not for everyone, it's cruel and demanding, and it is flat out unfair to those who play the Allies, but therein lies its greatness... it makes you earn that victory against the odds, and against the historical nature of Operation Market Garden.

I would thoroughly recommend the game as a lovingly crafted, indepth, brutally difficult RTT wargame.

So I beat de Blob, that was a lot of fun, I'm going to have to go back and get the plat.

I played Pyre. That started really slowly but got a lot better towards the end of the game. I will replay that some time to get the plat.

I played Lost Sphear...Lost Cause is a better name for it. For a JRPG'S it doesn't do a great deal to make me care for the characters or the plot and the combat that I originally found fun, started getting boring too. So I stopped playing that,I might start it again at some point if I feel like it.

So at the moment, I am playing Dying Light and having fun with that. Not really doing the main missions but doing the side quests and slapping around some zombies. It's the sort of game that I can start up, not really in the mood to play anything and before I know it, hours have passed. I will try and complete it sooner or later.

The Crew. Never was my intention when it released for some time, and internet-required games with single-player really are a horrible niggling feeling. But now it has reached an acceptable price for the full game where the trade-off feels fair enough to appreciate what there is whilst it lasts. And what there is is the closest to a modern Midnight Club play that any game has produced so far. Except more varied map design, relaxed sort of style of progression where even not doing that well still gives you a little something to at least feel like you have a better chance for a retry. Been wanting a relaxed driving experience to counter Dirt rally, and this has filled that hole more entertainingly than expected. What I'd consider flaws in other games kind of work to its' advantage here, curiously. Like the way your car interacts with trees at high speed; end up really a godsend when pushed into one by an aggressive npc on your 5th try at a gold run, or indeed anything that might induce peace-compromising rage during a late night.

...

Couple of things though, ubigroup.

Why does my car utilise a different set of physics in the pre/post race cutsenes? Like, for instance, the kind of physics that allow a car to tip and flip over on the slightest of corners? Especially in a pre-race cutscene that returns control to me with my car on its' back and the game just looking back saying "what? Crap. Again?? Sorry. Distracted." (btw I recorded each and every one of those, because fuck you, they're hilarious).

And why is the protagonist Adam Jensen. But here he's trying to pull a Clark Kent and disguise himself with a pair of glasses. We can still see it's you, idiot!

Other than that, paid exactly what I felt it was worth, so not disappointed. Never full price release-day base game though. That would be silly.

Is it any good? I got halfway through one of the earlier Tales games and it was pretty good but i had to send it back (it was a rental game).

So far it's a pretty run of the mill JRPG. The only other Tales game I've played is Tales of the Abyss, and for that alone I got it in my head that the games at least boasted interesting characters (the protagonist of Abyss starts as a believably horrible brat and goes through quite an arc; there're so many shades to the change that it makes up for an otherwise routine story). But going by the protagonist alone - your average overly enthusiastic gotta-catch'em-all hero kid - I don't have similar hopes for Zestiria.

Xsjadoblayde:The Crew. Never was my intention when it released for some time, and internet-required games with single-player really are a horrible niggling feeling. But now it has reached an acceptable price for the full game where the trade-off feels fair enough to appreciate what there is whilst it lasts. And what there is is the closest to a modern Midnight Club play that any game has produced so far. Except more varied map design, relaxed sort of style of progression where even not doing that well still gives you a little something to at least feel like you have a better chance for a retry. Been wanting a relaxed driving experience to counter Dirt rally, and this has filled that hole more entertainingly than expected. What I'd consider flaws in other games kind of work to its' advantage here, curiously. Like the way your car interacts with trees at high speed; end up really a godsend when pushed into one by an aggressive npc on your 5th try at a gold run, or indeed anything that might induce peace-compromising rage during a late night.

...

Couple of things though, ubigroup.

Why does my car utilise a different set of physics in the pre/post race cutsenes? Like, for instance, the kind of physics that allow a car to tip and flip over on the slightest of corners? Especially in a pre-race cutscene that returns control to me with my car on its' back and the game just looking back saying "what? Crap. Again?? Sorry. Distracted." (btw I recorded each and every one of those, because fuck you, they're hilarious).

And why is the protagonist Adam Jensen. But here he's trying to pull a Clark Kent and disguise himself with a pair of glasses. We can still see it's you, idiot!

Other than that, paid exactly what I felt it was worth, so not disappointed. Never full price release-day base game though. That would be silly.

Just a friendly PSA, there is technically no apostrophe after "its" possessive form, bear. Are you running low on salmon? Well, whatever the case, I hope you're doing well!

Replaying Far Cry 4 and mixing it up with some Total War: Warhammer 2. Far Cry 4 is still a fine game, though this time around I feel it falls short of the heights that 3 managed to reach. Pagan Min is fun though underused and the theme that war and conflict turns everyone into bastards actually resonates quite clearly throughout the game.

How have I invented this rule and thought it real for so long? Wtf, memory??PHA+PGltZyBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGFvbGliYW5pdGEuZmlsZXMud29yZHByZXNzLmNvbS8yMDA3LzExL2hpZGluZ19iZWFyLmpwZyIgYWx0PSJpbWFnZSIvPjwvcD4=

I also believed pigeon was spelt pidgeon for years. What is even real anymore?PHA+PGltZyBzcmM9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cucmFkYXNzLmNvbS93cC1jb250ZW50L3VwbG9hZHMvMjAxNS8xMC9CZWFycy1jb250ZW1wbGF0aW5nLUxpZmUtMDMuanBnIiBhbHQ9ImltYWdlIi8+PC9wPg==

Im playing "Return of Warrior" as of now,it is somewhat exciting to play games with no tutorials for beginners, the progress of the game depends on you as a player who controls the character in game, you can just go around the world if you want to and you can also grind until youve got enough of your strenght :)

Hope this game improves more though as there are some who gives a negative feed back about it,

CaitSeith:Went back to replay Final Fantasy XV with the DLCs and the new features added by the patches. Also, to see if I could get some plot holes filled, I watched the Kingsglaive 90 minutes long cutscene movie, the Brotherhood fan cartoon videos anime and the Prologue Parting Ways dialogue script web novel.

I watched KingsGlaive but haven't played XV yet. If you played it without watching Kingsglaive, does it feel like a lot of the backstory is missing from the game?

Sorry for the delay. The answer is more or less (you get a few snapshots of some movie events just before Chapter 2 so you aren't left totally in the dark), but I still feel like a lot of the backstory is missing even after watching Kingsglaive (specially for the main characters). As a fun fact, the movie spoils a reveal the game builds on (certain NPC's doesn't reveal his identity for a couple of chapters, while in the movie he is announced loud an clear).

OT: I have gone back to play the Ace Attorney series during my commute. I love that series!

EDIT: More than backstory, what the movie fills in is a couple of plot-holes about Lunafreya, Ravus, the King and the Ring of the Lucii. Actually, the last half of the movie happens at the same time than the game's first chapter, and that missing plot is hinted later on; but it's done in such a vague way that makes the Dark Souls lore look straightforward.

I finally had some time to finish the Chalice dungeons; or at least, the more critical ones. Gotta say, I was expecting the last round of bosses to be a bit tougher, but it was actually a welcome respite from the earlier struggles. ROM, Amygdala, Ebrietas, and the Pthumerian Descendant were the biggest obstacles from my play through, with each either approaching or well over a dozen attempts. Bloodletting Beast and the Yharnam Queen herself both succumbed to my cleaver after a couple runs after getting a feel for them. Then I went on to take down Gehrman first attempt.

Yeah, I should be quite level-ready for NG+ to pick up my last (main game) trophy. Missed both of the hidden cords. That's what I get for either not paying close enough attention to lore, or not simply cracking open the wiki.

In any case, I'm far from tired of this game. Already thinking of how to spec my next weapons which are approaching max level. Then of course The Old Hunters are beckoning in the meantime.

MGSV, after finishing all the previous games in the series(Check the Metal Gear thread if you're interested). Having a lot of fun with it now that I'm in the groove. However, the story/characters feel like they've been kind of pushed to the side so it feels like "Snake does a bunch of missions during the Afgan war and oh there's a revenge plot in here somewhere".

I captured Quiet and just got the upgrade that allows me to fulton vehicles. I'm gonna rob those Soviets blind and they'll still work for me when I kidnap them. *Chuckles*

Medal of Honor AA isn't great. The escort missions are annoying. But I prefer its lone soldier approach and hip shooting over the alternative. I wish MoH Frontline had come out on PC. I played that a few times when I was a teenager.

I also played the FFXV demo on Steam last week. I didn't want the game before and I don't want it now. It's visually repugnant and not even fun to play. I feel like all the major reviewers gave it glowing reviews because it was anticipated enough they felt they had to. Japanese art nowadays sucks so much.

Yeah, I should be quite level-ready for NG+ to pick up my last (main game) trophy. Missed both of the hidden cords. That's what I get for either not paying close enough attention to lore, or not simply cracking open the wiki.

I actually found NG+ quite a bit easier than NG considering the bump in damage output of enemies was in no way proportional to my level 100-something character and +10 saw cleaver and burial blade that cut through bosses like a knife through butter. :p Espescially when you grinded all those chalice dungeons you must be at quite a high lvl. Btw you probably need to complete Arianna's questline(which is quite easy, all you need to do is find her house somewhere near cathedral ward before beating Rom and tell her to go to oedon chapel). The other one is in the 'real' workshop(hunter's dream) and requires the leap of faith in that area in which you need to fall down just before reaching the forbidden forest.

Currently playing the Nioh DLC. I have some criticisms of the game, but the combat is simply so good. Bosses in particular are challenging b/c of how erratic and difficult to predict they are with way faster wind-up patterns than Souls or Bloodborne. Not as imaginative or atmospheric but still one of the best action-RPGs. Even after initially not liking it that much it's a game that really started to grow on me for the simple fact that the combat is so very, very good.

Bloodborne, on my virgin playthrough. It's a great game, and I love it more and more as I get further into the Lovecraftian craziness of it. But I don't have much time to play it these days, and I have no idea how much more of the game I have left, so it might be a long time before I finish.

I'm also on my umpteenth replay of Dragon Age:Origins, which is going to take me even longer.

I'm trying my hand at Kingdom Come Deliverance. Its...rough. Its basically an Oblivion mod without the magic, and the mini games made near impossible. I'm like 13 hours in and haven't once successfully picked a lock.Also it is buggy as all hell, the fact it wasn't created with English as the native language makes the terrible lip sync very obvious, and the character models are just terrible.

Despite what Yahtzee said in his review, I'm finding the combat piss easy. Aside from the 'supposed to lose' fight early on, I'm just breezing through fights. Its just a matter of being a little patient, then going World Eaters berserk crazy with an ax.

The story is the best part, and I'm actually somewhat engaged, even if Henry looks like an inbred Pug half the time. Although I will say for an "Open world RPG" this is one of the most restrictive, rail-roady RPGs ever. Everything has to be done its way, you have to walk down this road, go through this door, fight this guy, unlock this chest. I have no real sense of freedom. Hopefully after the apparently 20hr long prologue(fuck me! That's long enough to watch all 3 lord of the ring movies. TWICE.) it'll open up more.

Yeah, I should be quite level-ready for NG+ to pick up my last (main game) trophy. Missed both of the hidden cords. That's what I get for either not paying close enough attention to lore, or not simply cracking open the wiki.

I actually found NG+ quite a bit easier than NG considering the bump in damage output of enemies was in no way proportional to my level 100-something character and +10 saw cleaver and burial blade that cut through bosses like a knife through butter. :p Espescially when you grinded all those chalice dungeons you must be at quite a high lvl. Btw you probably need to complete Arianna's questline(which is quite easy, all you need to do is find her house somewhere near cathedral ward before beating Rom and tell her to go to oedon chapel). The other one is in the 'real' workshop(hunter's dream) and requires the leap of faith in that area in which you need to fall down just before reaching the forbidden forest.

Currently playing the Nioh DLC. I have some criticisms of the game, but the combat is simply so good. Bosses in particular are challenging b/c of how erratic and difficult to predict they are with way faster wind-up patterns than Souls or Bloodborne. Not as imaginative or atmospheric but still one of the best action-RPGs. Even after initially not liking it that much it's a game that really started to grow on me for the simple fact that the combat is so very, very good.

I might have to try Nioh sometime, but will wait for a PS+ deal. Too much to play yet that I already have.

As for Bloodborne, I leveled quite a bit in the dungeons hehe. A good spot was right before Ebrietas where a cluster of those big brain creatures are hanging out. Could get around 32,500 echoes with the Moon rune.

I actually found the HD cord just through my own curiosity, which was one of my favorite moments in the game to stumble upon the old workshop that time forgot. I also got Arianna but what screwed me over was I also brought that damn crazy beggar back and he eventually killed her! Then, I screwed myself over again when I killed Iosefka before Rom which I knew nothing about.

At least it will be a fun trip down memory lane, and of course I'll level up even more to make the dlc less nightmarish.

I just bought a PS4. They didn't have the complete edition of Bloodborne, so I got The Last of Us instead. Is all the Bloodborne DLC totally worth the extra 20 dollars? If not, I'll just go back and get BB as well.